Western Yell County experiences success in second seasonMichael ChristopherAssistant Sports Editor

HAVANA - In only its second season as a varsity football program, Western Yell County has made significant strides. The Wolverines (3-7, 2-3 4AA Conference) celebrated many firsts in the program's short history. WYC earned its first varsity win over Quitman, won three games and had its first All-State selection in Jonny Murray. With all of the team's accomplishments, Wolverine head coach Mark Tolton said he was extremely proud of his seniors and would miss them next season.

"They've been through the program since it started in junior high. They've been here since the beginning," Tolton said. "The only thing I was unhappy about was that we didn't get them into the playoffs. I thought as hard as they worked, especially last summer and this summer, conditioning-wise, I thought we could get them there. We have to be able to set goals and follow through on them and not back away from them."

Going from last year's 0-9 season to a 3-7 record and barely missing the playoffs, Tolton said he felt the team has made good progress in that time span.

"I think we have made tremendous strides, but we still have a long ways to go. As a man once said, 'we've come a million miles but we have a million more to go,'" Tolton said. "I think when the guys saw they were right there staring the playoffs in the face as a young program it made them excited. I thought we played too uptight the last two or three ball games. They put enough pressure on themselves. We gotta learn how to play loose and aggressive, and I thought we did better this year."

Tolton said he was most proud of his team for playing as a team and learning to play together instead of pointing fingers. He said he felt the players got the message that if they play hard, good things can happen.

"I think they learned they're going to have to put more into it they want more out of it. I think they understand what it takes now. They were extremely excited about the fact they got close to the playoffs, but yet they know they've got goals. We've got a lot of goals for next season," Tolton said. "I was especially proud of our 10th-graders this year, I thought they stepped up and played big for us in big situations. I think our future is looking good. We had seven seniors come out this year, which is a big senior class for us. I'm going to hate losing every one of them."

The Wolverines had a lot to overcome throughout the season, such as injuries and sickness. Tolton said he was very proud the team continued to battle despite having to deal with outside factors.

"We came out of the first half against Hartford and played very well, even with having five starters with the flu. I had two or three guys with 103-degree fevers the Thursday before the game. We had mama's and daddies standing behind the bench taking temperatures, and had to use our timeouts so guys could throw up and get water," Tolton said. "And we still had opportunities to pull that game out. We had an excellent first half against Hackett, but we didn't have a very good second half. We just didn't play well to finish the year."

Overall, Tolton said he felt the conference was starting to recognize how far the team has come. He said players like Murray, who led the team in both rushing and receiving this year, were making a name for themselves. Murray was voted special teams player of the year in the conference and had a play of 50 yards or more in every single game this season for the Wolverines.

"Goals for next season? To start right off, we want to make the playoffs. That's something we want to be in and that's something we strive for. I think as a group the juniors and the sophomores this year have noticed they've got every opportunity to play with people in certain games. They know they've got a lot of work to do to be able to play with other teams and their goal is not only to make it to the playoffs, but possibly a little deeper," Tolton said. "We thought with the way we played it this year, they played tough and played hard this season. Now that we're able to do that we can put together a complete ball game."